1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to electronic devices with rechargeable batteries.
2. Background Art
The use of portable electronic devices, be they smartphones, gaming devices, or multimedia devices, is becoming a ubiquitous part of life. Users of such devices rely upon them not only for communication, but also to maintain to-do lists, surf the Internet, maintain personal and business calendars, view videos, listen to audio recordings, and to stay up-to-date with friends, family, and co-workers. Such devices are used so readily, in large part, due to their portability. Portable energy sources like rechargeable batteries eliminate the need to be continually tethered to a power outlet and allow users to take devices with them wherever they may go.
Rechargeable batteries rely upon electrochemical cells for energy storage. While there may be other components in the battery pack, including circuit boards, mechanical assemblies, circuits including charging components, fuel gauging circuits, temperature measurement circuits, and indicator circuits, the primary function of the a battery is to store and release energy. Energy is stored and released by the electrochemical cell within the battery. Each electrochemical cell includes a cathode and an anode. The two are electrically isolated by a separator. The cathode and anode offer a current path into or away from the electrochemical cell. The anode and cathode assembly are generally either wound in a “jellyroll” configuration or laminated in a stack.
When a rechargeable battery is new, the cells within that battery can typically be charged to their maximum rated capacity. Said differently, one hundred percent of the cell capacity is available to store and deliver energy when the battery is new. As the battery is charged and discharged over the course of its life, however, its energy storage capacity, which measures the battery's capability to power a device, decreases due to chemical changes within the cells. For example, after roughly 400 charge/discharge cycles, the cells within a battery may only be chargeable to eighty-five or less percent of their original maximum capacity. As a result, a user may notice that the portable electronic device that receives its power from the battery does not provide as much run time for active operations or idle time for standby operations between charging cycles as the device initially did.
It would be advantageous to have methods and systems to intelligently manage rechargeable batteries while providing satisfactory battery “run time” for attached electronic devices.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.